Warm
by lostinthemusic6
Summary: She just can't get warm.


She's cold but she doesn't stop. She knows that she should worry about that but right now, she doesn't. She just keeps walking. She ditched her blue scrubs in a house she found along the way, trading them in for a pair of jeans and an over sized sweater and she knows she will be okay because even though she feels cold, she's not.

She just can't get warm.

* * *

She's tired but she doesn't stop. She knows that she should worry about that right now but she doesn't. She just keeps walking. She comes across a small cabin, the windows are blown out and the door is hanging off its hinges but it's too dark and even though it's not safe, it's safer than where she is now. She locks herself in the bedroom, pushing the dresser in front of the door and she takes a seat on the bed. She clutches her knife tight and her gun rests in her lap. She closes her eyes but morning comes too soon and she doesn't remember falling asleep but she doesn't worry about that because even though she feels tired, she not.

She just can't rest.

* * *

She's alone but she doesn't stop. She knows that she should worry about that but right now, she doesn't. She just keeps walking. She comes across a small hill that drops down into a ditch and she can see that people had been there, footprints and trash litter the ground and she notices a small blanket tucked around a tree, forgotten, and she walks over to it. She lays it out and takes a seat before lying down and looking up at the sky. She wraps her arms around herself and even though she feels a slight burn behind her eyes she doesn't let the tears fall because even though she feels alone, she's not.

She's just a little far behind.

* * *

That night she dreams of a time where she felt warm. The last time she remembers. She hears a piano and a gruff voice. She sees the flicker of candlelight and she tastes peanut butter on her tongue. She can feel a presence beside her, watching over her while she sleeps and when morning comes and she see's the blue sky, she imagines another blue. An intense blue that flickers in the candlelight and she gets up and she wraps the blanket around herself because even though she is a little far behind, she doesn't worry.

The signs are all there.

She knows how to read them.

* * *

The next few days blur together and she's not sure how long she's been on her own but she continues to follow the signs. There is a candy wrapper one day and a few empty cans of beans the next day. It's another few more days until she finds the broken arrow and she could almost cry in relief. She doesn't though, she just keeps moving forward, keeps following the signs.

One day, she lays in the grass. The sun is warm but she is still so cold. She hears him approaching and she smiles because she knows she would never have been able to hear him before if he hadn't taught her. She doesn't move though. This is not the first time he has come to her and she almost smiles as she plays with the broken arrow in her hands, imagining his gruff voice telling her to get up off her ass and move, just like he had always done before.

She turns her head slightly and she finally smiles as she sees him standing there. His crossbow hanging loosely from his hands and she's a little surprised he doesn't speak right away but she gets up anyway, brushing herself and rolling the arrow in between her fingers.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going, gotta keep trackin'," she says softly and she turns when she hears the sound of his crossbow hitting the ground.

She looks at him questioningly. He has never done that before. When he takes a hesitant step forward, she takes a step back. He has never done that before either. He always just stands there and watches her leave. He isn't leaving this time though. She blinks her eyes but still he never leaves and now she's starting to get angry because she has seen that look before.

"Don't look at me like that," she says angrily. "I'm not just another dead girl." she mutters and turns around and begins to walk away.

She barely takes a step before she hears his footsteps behind her and he is grabbing her arm and pulling her back, facing her toward him again and she is shocked until the moment she looks up into his eyes. They are an intense blue and she can see a million words, a million questions speaking to her and she can see a candlelight flickering in his eyes and there is the taste of peanut butter on her tongue and she starts to feel the ache in her chest, in her veins and it's a feeling so foreign that it takes her a moment to place what it is.

"Beth."

She hears her name slip from his lips, his voice gruff and even though she had imagined it a thousand times before she knows this is different. She gasps as she suddenly finds herself crushed against him, his arms circling around her holding her close and she feels that ache in her body, that _warmth_, and as she hears other voices in the distance she's suddenly reading the signs all over again.

_Oh._

* * *

He's laying next to her and she smiles as he hands her a jar of peanut butter. She scoops a spoonful into her mouth before closing the jar back up and sticking it in her bag. They are silent for a moment and she glances around and she hears the laughter of their family around her. There are the flickers of candlelight around them and as the wind blows in through the cracked window, she shivers and she smiles when he takes her hand, pulling her close and she rests her head on his chest.

"Ya cold?" he asks, placing his arms around her.

"No," she answers softly, shaking her head and it's not a lie.

She is warm, oh so warm.


End file.
